A Victorville man was approached outside his vehicle Sunday night, ordered to drive himself into a remote stretch of desert, and forced to run away before the two men who took his vehicle set it on fire. San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies are still searching for the pair, and investigators say they have no leads yet on a motive.
The attack began shortly before 7:30 p.m. Sunday along Stoddard Wells Road north of Dante Street in Victorville, according to a sheriff's statement reported by the Victorville Daily Press. Deputies say the victim was outside his vehicle when approached by two unidentified Black male adults, one of whom brandished a firearm. That suspect then ordered the man into his own vehicle and told him to drive to a desert area, per the sheriff's statement.
Once they reached the isolated area, the suspects ordered the victim to run away before setting fire to his 2015 Audi Q5, the newspaper reported. The burning SUV was first reported in the area of Emerson Street and Venus Avenue; CommercialCafe.com identifies a vacant-land listing on Stoddard Wells Road as having industrial or commercial development potential, but does not identify the fire location as that property.
No Suspect Descriptions, No Known Motive
Investigators have not released any further physical description of the two men beyond identifying them as Black male adults, and the newspaper's report notes that no suspect vehicle information has been made public either. Deputies also say they currently have no available theory on what motivated the attack.
The case falls under the jurisdiction of the Victorville Police Department, which operates as a contract station of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. That contract arrangement, in place since 1962, covers more than 74 square miles and over 140,000 residents under a municipal policing agreement worth $38 million annually as of 2024, according to background reported by Hoodline.
Legal Exposure Could Be Severe
If caught, the suspects would face serious charges. Standard carjacking under California Penal Code Section 215 is a violent felony, per legal guidance from Wallin & Klarich. But because the victim was allegedly forced to drive at gunpoint into the desert, prosecutors could pursue aggravated kidnapping during a carjacking under Penal Code Section 209.5 — a charge that carries a statutory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the California State Legislature.
A Victorville arrestee in an unrelated case was booked at the High Desert Detention Center in neighboring Adelanto, a San Bernardino County jail, per the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Part of a Rough Stretch for Victorville
This carjacking adds to a difficult few weeks for the High Desert community. Just two weeks earlier, three gas stations across Victorville and Hesperia were hit by armed robberies within a 22-minute span, and days after that a Victorville man was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at a woman, both incidents previously covered by Hoodline. Separately, a 61-year-old man was found dead at an old Victorville bus shelter on Tuesday, August 18, with his killer still at large.
Countywide, violent crime rose 33% between 2023 and 2024, according to San Bernardino County Community Indicators data. Separately, analytics based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting statistics show Victorville's property-crime risk is 26% higher than the national average, per an analysis from DoorProfit. This Victorville carjacking has drawn a sheriff's response.
How to Report a Tip
Anyone with information about Sunday's carjacking is asked to contact the Victorville Police Department at (760) 241-2911 or sheriff's dispatch at (760) 956-5001. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can call WeTip at (844) 909-3096, a nationwide hotline founded in San Bernardino County in 1972 that relays information directly to detectives without collecting identifying information, according to WeTip. The investigation remains ongoing.
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